Oil spill spreads to Piraeus. Fears of great ecological disaster

The oil slik caused near the island of Salamina on Sunday when crude oil tanker “Agia Zoni II” sank has spread to the port of Piraeus. The pollution reached the region of Frettyda, a residential area in Piraeus located in the southeastern part of the city near the Zea harbour.

Technical crews have been disaptched to the port of Piraeus at large since the morning of Wednesday in an effort to assess the sitiution and plan a course of action to prevent the spill from spreading even more. A meeting at the Maritime Ministry is in progress with the General Secretary of ports Christos Lambrides present, as well as the Mayor of Salamina Isidora Nannou Papathanasiou and representatives of coastal municipalities.

Coast guard forces with the assistance of private boats rushed to the area and placed oil containment boons and special oil dispergants.

The Mayor of Piraeus, Giannis M. Maralis, was immediately informed of the developing situation and requested for immediate action to be taken in his communication with Piraeus deputy regional governor Giorgos Gavrilis and the Chief of the Coast Guard, Stamatis Raptis, as the municipality of Piraeus does not have the legal right to take action.Meanwhile, images from the coast of Salamina are indicative of the extent of the ecological disaster caused, with experts warning it could be months before the sea is cleaned up completely.